Italian Sausage Tortellini Soup

This delicious, super-easy Italian Sausage Tortellini Soup is creamy and made in only one pot in less than 30 minutes!

Course Dinner

Cuisine Italian

Keyword Italian Sausage Tortellini Soup

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 25

Total Time 30

Servings servings

Calories 390kcal

Author Kelli Shallal MPH RD

Ingredients

1 yellow onion
4 garlic cloves minced
1 tablespoon avocado oil
22 ounces ground Italian sausage casings removed (if needed)
4 cups chicken broth
½ tablespoon Italian seasoning
2 cans fire roasted diced tomatoes 15-ounce cans
15 ounces cheese tortellini
2 ounces cream cheese
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
1 cup half and half
6 ounces spinach
salt and pepper too taste
red pepper flakes optional, too taste

Garnish

½ cup chopped parsley

Instructions

Saute onion and garlic in a large pot until translucent and tender. Add sausage and cook until fully browned and cooked throughout.
1 yellow onion , 4 garlic cloves, 1 tablespoon avocado oil , 22 ounces ground Italian sausage
Add chicken broth, Italian seasoning, and canned diced tomatoes, and boil.
4 cups chicken broth , ½ tablespoon Italian seasoning, 2 cans fire roasted diced tomatoes
Once boiling, add the tortellini and reduce the heat, so it's gently simmering. Cook for 4-6 minutes until the tortellini is ready.
15 ounces cheese tortellini
Stir in cream cheese, half and half, and parmesan cheese. TIP: Cut cream cheese into small squares so it's easy to melt into the soup.
2 ounces cream cheese, ½ cup grated parmesan cheese, 1 cup half and half
Stir in spinach and season to taste with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes (if desired.)
6 ounces spinach , salt and pepper, red pepper flakes
Garnish with chopped parsley.

Notes

To Store: Store in an airtight container for up to five days, and reheat in the microwave or stove. Some say that you should only use as much tortellini as you want initially and then add fresh tortellini to leftovers because the tortellini will blow up and absorb a bunch of moisture. Our tortellini held its shape just fine for five days in the soup. (I only know this because I made it Christmas week, and a small leftover bowl was left in the back of the fridge for over a week. I would have eaten it if I wasn't pregnant and worried more about food safety. Our initial soup only lasted a couple of days before it was gone!)

To freeze: So for the best results, you cook the soup through step 2 in the directions in the recipe card below, stopping before you add any tortellini. Let it cook completely, and then freeze. When you are ready to defrost, let it defrost under refrigeration. Bring soup to a boil on the stove and finish the cooking as if you were making it the first time, so complete steps 2-5. Here is why: tortellini doesn't freeze well, and cream-based soups without a roux base also don't freeze well. By stopping before you add the tortellini, you have a lot of it done without compromising texture. Freezing leftovers of the soup already made likely won't hold an appealing texture when reheated, it will be safe and taste fine, but the texture may be weird.

Nutrition